The online gaming world is currently abuzz with the recent developments within the Final Fantasy Online titles of Square Enix. Restructuring has been announced for both Final Fantasy XIV AND Final Fantasy XI. With XIV almost getting it’s whole table flipped over with the change of it’s Producer-Director and “new handpicked leaders” from other projects. XI on the other hand will be getting a new Director and Associate Director to “seeing that Vana’diel continues to evolve as a realm of rousing adventure and camaraderie.”

All this New Direction talk reminded me of Glee

Concerns on the “quality” of FFXIV has spark the change. The concern even made President and CEO Yoichi Wada release an announcement of the changeof leadership in team XIV. The post came with the announcement that Naoki Yoshida would take the reigns as the new producer-director for FFXIV and that the PS3 release will be delayed yet again so that they would not release just a “simple coversion of the windows version”.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

For those who have no idea who Naoki Yoshida is, according to a zam post, he was working on the Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road series of arcade games, and well, that’s plainly it. Zam also posted more details on the new line-up of FFXIV.

It would seem though that the other good news of FFXIV is that the trial would be free up until FFXIV finally reaches the starting point of it’s “new direction”.

On the FFXI side, the announcement was pretty vague on why they had to switch directors and associate directors. Mizuki Ito will be taking the reigns as director while Yoji Fujito will be taking the position of Associate Director.

• Lilium
• Rukia9

Game/s Played:

• Final Fantasy 5-12
• Chrono Cross
• Xenosaga Episode II-III
• Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
• Ar Tonelico
• Brave Story
• Samurai Warriors 1 & 2 (includes both Xtreme Legends)
• Fable II
• Obscure II
• Resident Evil 2 & 3
• Bully
• Odin Sphere
• Left 4 Dead
• Left 4 Dead II
• Audition
• Perfect World
• O2Jam
• Tekken 1-6
• Soul Calibur IV
• Gears of War 2 and the list goes on XD

Game/s currently playing:

• Final Fantasy 7 (PSP Re-release)
• Final Fantasy 13
• Bayonetta
• Assassin’s Creed II
• Burnout: Dominator

What’s your main game?

• Left 4 Dead, I will always prefer the first game. I like how they gave character to Zoey, she’s into gaming as well.

How did you start playing video games?

• It all started with my FAMICOM. I felt cool back then having one. XD

What was your first game?

• Super Mario Bros.

Your proudest gaming moment?

• I was with my college friends in the arcades, I borrowed 1 token because I was being frugal that day. I played this game called “Rumble Fish”; I was going through the stages smoothly, friends were amused by all this they started challenging me and they couldn’t win. FYI, it was my first time playing Rumble Fish. I reached the final boss but was defeated I think I won one round but it was all in vain, hehe. I’m proud of this ‘cause it all happened with 1 token, I’m not really an arcades person.

Game Affiliations: (guilds, clans, forums etc.)

• Pixel Otaku (long ago was FFWorlds)
• I founded the once Friendster group called “RPG Masters”.

Preferred Game Genre: (mmorpg, fps, rpg, action, etc.)

• Definitely RPGs! I’ve always wanted games that deliver an in depth storyline which is commonly found in Role Playing Games.

Preferred Gaming Platform: (PC, consoles or handeld)

• It is quite a tie between consoles and handheld; consoles because it’s worth it, every month its bound to have a new game released, most of the games that I’ve been very fond of I’ve played in consoles. Handheld, well simply because of the fact that it is very handy, you can anywhere as long as the situation allows you to; my PSP has become of the things I’ve become accustomed to bringing with me.

If you were given a choice for a free console what would you choose from the three? Wii, Ps3 or Xbox360?

• PS3! Why?! Well…first off, I don’t have one. I’m a 360 owner. I’d like to see what the PS3 has to offer, with all the great reviews and feedbacks it’s been getting, I can browse the internet, there definitely is something with that console and it’ll be a great addition to my Playstation collection. I would also like to try MGS.

How about if you were given a free handheld what would you choose? Nintendo DS or PSP?

• NDS! I’ve yet to play with it so it would be really great if I had one!

Are you more of an online or offline gamer?

• I’m more of an offline gamer; I haven’t played MMOs for a long time.

Let’s say you were given the choice to change the world into one of the games you played before (or you are currently playing), what game would it be?

• Definitely Final Fantasy 8, I really liked the whole school concept. It would be great to actually have a school like Balamb Garden,  I really liked how they designed it, makes you envious of Squall The towns in the game are also great, if I’m to live there, I’d live in Balamb City because it seems like a peaceful place.

If you can change yourself into one of the many heroines in any game, who would you change into?

• Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3; she’s one of my ultimate favorite heroines. Mitsuru’s character really amuses me, I like her snobbish I’ll kick your arse if you get too close personality. Plus, she lives in Japan and points a gun on her head to summon her Persona. It’s pure win.

If you would be given a power from a game character, what kind of power would you ask for? Why and what will you do with it?

• Sonic’s ability to run fast! Haha, I would really like to have that to avoid the heavy traffic I usually stumble upon, I wouldn’t  need a car anymore I’ll just grab my boyfriend then and we’ll head off to school! XD

What are your other hobbies aside from gaming?

• My boyfriend and I are fond of web designing; I’m currently learning how to do things.  I’m also into graphic designing; I update my DeviantArt whenever I have something new. I like learning new things especially when they’re related to computers. I enjoy watching movies, tv shows, J-dramas with my boyfriend.

Why do you think pinay gamers rock?

• Because we can kick just as much arses

What’s your message to all the gamers out there?

• Video games will never fail to entertain you, but it should be done in moderation. I think you’ll be able to enjoy playing video games even more when you have nothing to worry about school, so school tasks always comes first. School and video games are two things that will never agree with each other. There’s time for school and there will always be time for gaming ^__^

• Kraed

Game/s Played:

• Ragnarok Online
• Cabal
• Final Fantasy 7-12
• Suikoden 2-5
• Tales of destiny 1 & 2
• Lunar
• Star Ocean
• Persona 1-3
• Thousand Arms
• Chocobo’s Dungeon
• Monkey Magic @_@
• Mario Bro
• Tekken 3
• Kung fu fighter
• Diner dash
• Left 4 dead

Game/s currently playing:

• Luna Online Ph

What’s your main game?

• Luna Online Ph. It’s a cutesy fast paced, free to play MMORPG that everyone will find entertaining. With its cute characters and fun features, you will find yourself asking for more,

How did you start playing video games?

• I started playing video games (NES) when I was 4 or 5 yeas old. I still remember when I had to fight with my brother just to play Nintendo.

What was your first game?

• Karate kid
• Mario bros.

Your proudest gaming moment?

• When I get to finish a story. YEY!

Game Affiliations: (guilds, clans, forums etc.)

• I’m currently a 7^th Seal guild member.

Preferred Game Genre: (mmorpg, fps, rpg, action, etc.)

• Role playing games. Why? Because rpg games today deliver some amazing and colorful graphics that you can’t help but really get immersed in the story as well as the characters you are portraying. It’s always been my dream to become a hero in tale world to fight monsters (go-here-and-kill-that kind of quests), but my favorite part in RPGs is when you get to recruit characters to your party!

Preferred Gaming Platform: (PC, consoles or handeld)

• Consoles, specifically the Playstation. I’m more comfortable playing PS than any other gaming platform.

If you were given a choice for a free console what would you choose from the three? Wii, Ps3 or Xbox360?

• The Ps3 is my preferred console for its ability to play PS2 games makes it a worthwhile alternative to other consoles. I also like the graphics and the best rpgs are released here.

How about if you were given a free handheld what would you choose? Nintendo DS or PSP?

• PSP, because it offers better graphics than Nintendo DS games.

Are you more of an online or offline gamer?

• I used to be an offline gamer, but when I started playing Luna Ph I didn’t have much time to play offline games anymore. I’m now an online gamer which lets me to get connected with other gamers. Social interaction is the key to become a successful in Luna Online.

Let’s say you were given the choice to change the world into one of the games you played before (or you are currently playing), what game would it be?

• Final Fantasy 7 and 9 because of the place, story and characters fascinates me plus the summons and the material you can use. The entire Final Fantasy series are an amazing way to enjoy a good adventure.

If you can change yourself into one of the many heroines in any game, who would you change into?

• Kid in Chrono Cross is just so cool. I like her free spirited character who loves adventures and the fact that she will never turn her allies down.

You’re in the middle of the guild war and suddenly you get a call that your mother’s uncle’s daughter’s dog died. You’re both close and she needs you bad for emotional support, what do you do?

• It’s my mother’s uncle’s daughter’s dog T_T of course I’ll go there and comfort her! I’m pretty confident that my guildmates will win even without my presence. :p

What are your other hobbies aside from gaming?

• I love to sleep. I also enjoy reading fictional stories and baking.

Why do you think pinay gamers rock?

• Female, male, whats the difference? In game there all the same, nothing but a bunch of pixles with personalities. I’m pretty sure there are lots of pinay gamers already, myself included. We rock ‘coz we’re not your typical pinay! Don’t you dare underestimate us, because we can kick your ass!

What’s your message to all the gamers out there?

• For many teenagers, video games are an enjoyable and popular pastime. Players can now interact with one another in imaginary worlds. The immersive experience is becoming ever richer that even came to the point that it’s becoming destructive to ones education. Many gamers now prefer to play rather than to go to school. We should prove them wrong because the longer we push that stereotype, the longer we’ll be seen that way.